


Intertwined

by L0chn3ss



Series: Perfect Fit One Shot Edition [3]
Category: Soul Eater, ニセコイ | Nisekoi: False Love
Genre: Catharsis, Collaboration, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gift Giving, Ribbons, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 08:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10783452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L0chn3ss/pseuds/L0chn3ss
Summary: Maka receives two gifts one after another. However, she decidedly prefers one over the other. SoMa Week 2017. Day 3 Clothes. FlaMakNess Collab. Nisekoi AU.





	Intertwined

A day doesn’t go by without a painful twinge of betrayal in Maka’s heart. Every morning and every night, she forced herself to remember her mother through the unlikely help of her ribbons. Yes… those ribbons that she ties in her hair, the same ones that were carefully organized and tucked within her vanity in accordance to color, exquisite material, and size. There was no telling how long she’d had her old and growing collection, but she swore that she could remember every moment that she received them as if it were yesterday. In fact, a pair did come in with the grocery ads and the bills that were dropped onto the kitchen counter; it was another cashmere set from an exclusive brand and quite possibly only a few had ever been made in the world.

Laughable. 

She clicked the drawer shut and finished brushing out her hair, remembering to set out the new pair beside her uniform in preparation for tomorrow. A sigh escaped her when she saw the stark contrast between the quality ribbons and her already high quality uniform, the latter paling in comparison when examined by a trained eye.  _ No matter _ , Maka thought, turning away in favor of hugging her pillow before collapsing into her covers.

In the coming morning, Soul singled her out in the crowd on her way to class. He pulled her behind the school where they had first met, the very place where he took two knees to the face, the very place he’d also spent hours searching for a pendant… He cleared his throat, looking a bit more shy and misplaced than usual. After a little bit of rambling, a couple of ‘ _ oh geez _ ’ and ‘ _ um _ ’s, he finally asked her to cover her eyes.

Maka was rather unimpressed, but followed suit anyway until he gave an exasperated groan, telling her to not  _ actually _ cover herself; he needed her hands. And so he corrected himself hastily and waited for her to execute his directions. Was she going to go down easily? Of course not. She cheekily went the long-about way of every step, triggering a short-lived bicker between them which ended with her submission. 

She wasn’t pleased though, and of course she would become wary if anyone just told her to undo her hair, hold out her hands, close her eyes. But the initial touch on her fingertips, the way the smooth fabric cascaded into her waiting palm, the fall of the last strand that slipped over her wrist… it could’ve only meant one thing. Maka peeked under her eyelashes in anticipation and noticed the bright, solid red immediately; it resembled Soul’s matching blush to her own. A swell of tears gathered, threatening to fall, and her arms flew around him in a tight embrace...how else could she have reacted to his gift?

It was another pair of ribbons that made their way into her life, yet this time, it was presented properly without a stamp or a cold letter from ever-changing names of interns. They were bold, and plain, and thick, and coarsely made by untrained hand--  _ his  _ untrained hands from what his sputtering was about. He continued through her hug, air escaping much faster than it was re-entering, his cheeks turning redder and redder.

[(Click to see full)](http://mrsashketchum.tumblr.com/post/159711736858)

Maka released him, laughing at his silliness and masking her own bashful emotions that she didn’t know how to deal with. She’d never gotten a response as strong as this one from a present that she’d received a plethora of times before. But these smiles and these tears of joy, they spilt over happily,  _ willingly _ . 

He urged her to stop crying, that she was making it more weird than it needed to be. And that comment was what she needed to break out of her bliss, shooting him down with a sassy remark that she hoped was in character. She wasn’t sure that she kept her giddiness from her voice properly though. At least he didn’t notice, too distracted by the ribbons. Soul hesitated for a moment, setting his mouth in a line and squaring his shoulders as if readying for a war. 

“Turn around,” Soul said, helping her along with a gentle push until the back of her head was facing him.

He tugged the ribbons from her grip, muttering something about how he knew she liked wearing them so often. It felt like an appropriate gift, he continued to reason, as if he needed one to give her anything at all. She felt his hands run softly through part of her hair, untangling a few of the strands slowly to not hurt her, gathering the rest in his palm to pull up into a rough ponytail, and finishing it off with a little bow.

[(Click to see full)](http://flamedork.tumblr.com/post/159714908546/clothes-lsiten-if-nesss-writing-doesnt-make-you)

The idea was pitched somehow by someone. All the materials were gathered through a group effort; one thing contributed by each friend in their little group. Finally, Ox lent Soul his sewing machine and taught him the basics before letting him off on his own. It was a collaboration of a sort, he said firmly, making sure that there was no question about it in her mind.

But she knew the hidden truth that he desperately tried to hide, unable to stop smiling as he gave her back the extra pair that he hadn’t used. He was sweeter than most men, more humble and caring than most people on top of that. Soul wasn’t a brag though, and that may have been a trait that she wished he had. Perhaps that way, she could find out more about him from his own mouth.

Miraculously, they were saved by the bell that signaled the start of their class. They bolted hand in hand to their session, tugging and pulling at each other until they reached the door. Together, the false couple entered out of breath and endured the teasing of their friends and classmates.

“It wasn’t like that,” Soul growled, taking his seat.

She sat down her own next to him, still a little flushed from their run. The ribbon was safely wrapped around her hand where it stayed for the rest of her day.

During that same night as she undid her hair, Maka laid out the red cloth out on her vanity as she always did. However this time, she lingered just a beat longer than she normally would, tracing the uneven seams with her nail.  _ They were cute _ , she said aloud.  _ Well, rudimentary at best _ , she corrected in the same breath. She decided to leave them out for the night, figuring that it would take too long for her to find a place for them within her organized system.

Still, she remembered to put away the new ribbons that she’d received the day before. The others that were so shiny and luminous and soft. What did they look like again? She pulled them out of her skirt pocket, rubbing the cashmere with her thumb. As she suspected, they felt nothing like the cheap red ones that held her hair up all day. There was no comparison to be made; one was clearly superior than the other.

She scoffed slightly and moved to place her mother’s package items into their rightful place in her drawer among the other neatly rolled ones. Tomorrow was when she would choose the next ones to wear, jumping onto her bed and digging her face into her pillows. It was too late in the night for that now.

And come tomorrow, she begrudgingly tied Soul’s red ribbons back into her hair.

It was a late morning, she swore to no one in particular.

Written for SoMa Week 2017 Day 3 Clothes


End file.
